Democrats seeking seat in Congress reveal few differences in final debate

Wednesday

Feb 29, 2012 at 12:01 AMFeb 29, 2012 at 5:23 AM

In their last debate, four Democrats fighting to represent Franklin County in Congress treaded carefully when given a direct opportunity to criticize their opponents' records before next week's primary. They instead focused primarily on themselves, sprinkling in a few veiled criticisms for voters who want to read between the lines.

David Eggert, The Columbus Dispatch

In their last debate, four Democrats fighting to represent Franklin County in Congress treaded carefully when given a direct opportunity to criticize their opponents’ records before next week’s primary.

They instead focused primarily on themselves, sprinkling in a few veiled criticisms for voters who want to read between the lines.

“They represent the status quo, the way that campaigning and governing have been done in the past,” state Rep. Ted Celeste of Grandview Heights said last night during a live, hourlong televised debate hosted by The Dispatch, WBNS-TV (Channel 10) and ONN.

“Someone has to come in with a plan to fix Congress, and I think that’s what I’d do.”

Former U.S. Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy of Columbus did not back down from her time in Congress in 2009-10, though, and highlighted her vote for President Barack Obama’s health-care law in the face of stiff opposition.

“I did it. I was there. I made a difference,” she said.

Ex-state House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty of Blacklick said that unlike the other candidates, she does not only back labor unions.

“I won’t demonize businesses,” she said, adding that it takes both companies and unions to grow jobs.

Beatty did not mention anyone by name, though this week the Kilroy campaign sent a fundraising email noting that “Wall Street and Big Coal” had donated more than $33,000 to unnamed opponents. Records show that Beatty received money from banks; Celeste from electric utilities.

Priscilla Tyson said she serves “closest to the people” on the Columbus City Council and best understands their needs.

The new 3rd Congressional District, which includes about 80 percent of the Columbus population, is heavily Democratic, so the nominee who wins Tuesday will be favored to win in November. John Adams of Columbus and Chris Long of Reynoldsburg will meet in the Republican primary.

Not a ton of new ground was broken in the third and final televised debate.

Asked if Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as Democratic leader of the House because the public’s distaste for Congress is at an all-time high, no one definitively said yes or no.

Celeste pointed out, however, that Pelosi was mentioned in a recent 60 Minutes report on CBS on profitable stock trades by lawmakers with inside knowledge.

“If we’re going to be serious about fixing Congress and restoring the confidence that people have in Congress, then we have to deal with issues like that,” he said.

In a shift from what she told The Dispatch for a story that ran Sunday, Beatty said she would not support military force to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. She would favor more diplomacy, she said.

One area where candidates differed was raising the federal gas tax to fund road repairs.

Beatty and Tyson opposed the idea outright, while Celeste and Kilroy appeared more open to it.

Celeste said it is a “fair thing” to explore if the economy improves. Kilroy said “maybe,” depending on what she hears from constituents, including businesses.

Asked what programs should be cut and which taxes should be raised to address a $1.1 trillion budget deficit and $15 trillion in debt, Kilroy — who represented the 15th District for one term before being defeated by Republican Rep. Steve Stivers in 2010 — offered the most specifics.

She said defense spending should drop to levels of when Bill Clinton was president, troops should be brought home from Afghanistan, Bush-era tax cuts should be eliminated for the wealthy, and tax breaks should be removed for oil companies as well as companies that outsource jobs overseas.

Tyson said she would end tax cuts for households making more than $250,000 a year and did not mention specific spending cuts.

Celeste, who also stayed away from naming specific program cuts, said the U.S. should no longer go to war without paying for it.

Beatty supported Obama’s budget plan and noted it would save $1 trillion over 10 years by winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.